Liverpool have suffered a double injury blow with the news goalkeeper Alisson and forward Diogo Jota will each miss several weeks.
The pair sustained injuries during last Saturday’s 1-1 draw with champions Manchester City at the Etihad and Klopp explained the severity of their setbacks prior to tomorrow night’s Europa League clash with LASK Linz at Anfield.
Check out our other sports news stories here:
Former Everton defender Jagielka retires from football
Liverpool’s Robertson taking recovery from shoulder injury ‘week by week’
“Both are out,” he said. “With Ali it’s a bit lesser, so we have to see – not day by day, he will not play tomorrow, not on Sunday, probably not the week after. Then it should be kind of okay.
“Diogo will take a little bit longer, we don’t know exactly how long, but it’s a bit more severe. We have to see.”
The news comes at a bad time for Liverpool, who are already without a couple of key players.
“In this busy time we need all the boys available,” added Klopp. “We have already a lot not available. Thiago and Robbo [Andy Robertson] are out…Diogo and Ali. That’s massive.
“It would be great if nothing else would happen. But that’s unlikely. We have to share the intensity between the group.”
Jürgen Klopp has confirmed both Alisson Becker and Diogo Jota are facing spells on the sidelines due to injury. ⤵️
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) November 29, 2023
Liverpool need a point against the Austrian side to qualify, although they will also go through if Union Saint-Gilloise fail to beat Toulouse in the other Group E encounter.
“We are beginning the most intense period of the whole season,” said Klopp. “It’s super tough. Crystal Palace is the last game of these four – in pretty short period of time. We have to make decisions, that’s clear.
“But it’s about winning a football game against a really good opponent. We won there, yes, but we had our struggles in the game. We don’t forget that.
“We have to make this a real European night at Anfield. A team with fresh legs who will go for it, really fight for a result. If Anfield wants to do that as well – that would be massively helpful. If it was a Champions League game…I don’t have to talk about these kind of things.
“We need to make a special night of it. It’s a difficult game.”
Liverpool’s defeat at Toulouse in their last Europa League game ended their 100 per cent record and made their chances of progressing more complicated and Klopp is eager to get the job done tomorrow to avoid a tricky trip to Union Saint-Gilloise on matchday six.
“It [the 3-2 defeat in France] just made the situation more difficult,” he added.
“That’s how it is. We want to win tomorrow night, and win in Belgium as well. If we don’t win tomorrow night, the game in Belgium – in a super intense period – will be even tougher.”
